Former jail in Harlem to be repurposed for asylum seekers

NEW YORK CITY, New York (KVIA) -- A former Harlem prison will soon be a temporary home to asylum seekers.

New York State Officials say the Lincoln Correctional Facility will be used to house migrants seeking refuge.

Officials point out that the facility, though a former prison, does not have cells. The building opened in 1914 has worn many hats. It hosted 170 young Jewish ladies who were a part of the Young Women's Hebrew Association. during World War II, it served as a home to Army soldiers.

Soon after, it became the new Lincoln School. In 1976 the state turned it into a minimum-security work-release program. They closed it in 2019 because of a decline in the prison population.

That closure left almost 400 beds empty, those will now host asylum seekers. State officials say they will work together over the next few days to move the migrants in.